Time Flies by...

Hello family! I hope you are all doing well!

Well this week FLEW by. Sadly the solid plans all are kinda flopping... D returned to live in Talara. We got her number so I think we will call and set it up so she can get the missionaries to visit her there. We called P and he said he was still stuck in the plantations but would get home yesterday and he would call us. Maybe we will be giving him a call tonight. But the Wife of the family we have been teaching is accepting visits and is receptive! But that family is now hard to reach for work and such, but hopefully this week we get back into constant contact!

We've also got some great new deals coming up! Like in church a man showed up with his wife to church. We didn't recognize him so we walked up to introduce ourselves and get to know him, and wow!! He is a RM from around 2001 of the Lima North Mission and was there with his non member wife! He has been inactive for work for several years but now he is back and wants us to teach his wife (who is also willing!) So that could be a sweet deal there. I just love it when God puts prepared people in our paths. And here I have seen it more than anywhere!!

Well, sad news... Transfers. Well, more like bittersweet news. Because now Elder Villalba is in Tumbes! We were both hoping to have more time together. What we did together was top notch. We seriously spent like 4 weeks studying how to effectively teach the first lesson. Hopefully with my new companion we can swing right into all that we have learned and figured. We were AWESOME. And we became super good friends, lots of laughing too!

But the great part is now I have a new AWESOME companion!! His name is Elder Machaca. He is from Arequipa, Peru. He has 8 months in the mission, and he left Sechura to come here. And right off the bat we are rocking it. We have spent all day laughing! And he is upbeat, humble, and we are gonna baptize thousands. I think we are going to start building baptismal fonts for P day, because the 1 we've got just isn't enough. haha But I really hope to see some miracles this transfer. And I feel so prepared to do it.

Oh! Elder Spencer also left from the district (he is off to Sullana!) And Elder Volcanes came! He is also from Utah and he is a super awesome Elder! 

To answer questions:

What was the funniest thing that happened to you this past week?

Well... Carnival is starting up again here in South America. So all the kids walk about with water balloons in their hands. Sunday, walking away from a family we visited (the 4 missionaries) there was a group of kids with a bucket full of water balloons and others with their hands full of them. Then Elder Mallo starts telling them (jokingly) "Hey!! Soak the gringos!!" Then the kids look over and get super excited and started yelling and starting towards us. They decided to attack the 4 of us. But Elder Spencer and I just booked it as they threw the balloons. We didn't get wet, a water balloon even bounced off my arm that they threw at me! (I remember comparing myself to Samuel the Lamanite. Elder Spencer later started quoting Moroni as the last Nefite :) And our Latino companions got water balloons thrown at them and got their backs soaked! Then they got after the kids and they left. But THAT was a fun little experience.

What are the greatest strengths you and your companion have as a companionship?

Well, of Villalba and myself, I would say our shared desire to improve. It was the first time where my companion and I sincerely and consistently walked out of every lesson and start to analyze "what went well" "What can we do better" "We need to study this topic" "We need to plan how to teach this topic better" "How did applying this teaching skill go" and so on. And we improved SO MUCH. But now I am blessed to have all of the investigators actually UNDERSTAND what this is all about. They know what they need to do and the importance, and it is just up to them if they do it or not. So that was the greatest and my favorite strength.

Best or strangest thing you ate recently?

Last week our pensionista made a soup that was DELICIOUS. It was a little out of the ordinary for the culture here, but it was exactly like Mom's Taco Soup. To the exact. So I downed that soup. Like normally soup doesn't get me excited, but this soup was great and rather like home. haha

Well we've got a good week ahead of us!! Time flies by when you're having fun and working hard!! Hope all is well back home and always keep working to build your testimonies!

Love you all!!

Elder Russell

 With Elder Machaca (my new companion) and Hermano Fasabi (Branch Mission Leader from Sechura)